Right Wing Media FREAKS OUT Over Trans Women Hypothetically Being Allowed to Box
A restrictive set of rules by USA Boxing govern trans women’s inclusion, but the possibility they could be included at all has some on the right losing their minds.
by Mira Lazine
The media panic over trans participation in sports continues, this time in the world of boxing. Just a few days ago, USA Boxing - the main governing body for boxing in the United States - announced a new policy that would allow trans women to participate in women’s boxing, with many caveats. This has left conservative media in a mass outcry.
Here’s the Washington Times’s story, highlighting conservative commentator Dana Loesch, previously of Breitbart and The Blaze:
screenshot from the Washington Times
And here’s the Daily Caller harkening back to previous media frenzies about transgender women in different sports, specifically with Lia Thomas.
screenshot from the Daily Caller
While briefly discussed, what their articles neglected to really discuss is the requirements listed. USA Boxing specifically only allows adult trans women to fight against their identified gender, and they have to have undergone gender reassignment surgery in order to do so. Trans women also have to be on hormones for at least four years and be subject to quarterly hormone testing, with their testosterone levels consistently being below 5 nmol/L.
The governing policies of each sport sets different rules for transgender participation In many sports, trans women who have been through a testosterone-fueled puberty are banned entirely, for instance the World Athletics Council, professional swimming, and even from events regulated by the World Boxing Council. In other sports, such as tennis, trans women are allowed to compete, but inclusion is balanced with fairness through a requirement for consistent testosterone suppression over a period of years.The surgery requirement of USA Boxing puts it at the stricter end of those sports that allow trans women’s participation at all.
More research is needed to fully settle the question of whether trans women retain a competitive advantage in sports after testosterone suppression for several years. Some studies have found indications that any such advantage is negligible or nonexistent, with most prominent analyses that found the opposite being highly flawed, having relied on comparisons between cis women and cis men.
These sorts of bans exist in a broader context of societal and media transphobia, which creates a strong pressure on sporting institutions to appease those most vocal in their opposition to trans sports integration, even if there’s very few trans women in professional boxing (or in any sport). The fact that USA Boxing allowed trans women to participate in women’s boxing at all is a step forward, but the rather strict requirements for it can be seen as a response to the culture of fear surrounding sports integration at this time.
This culture of fear can be seen in some of the plainly absurd areas where bans have been instituted or proposed These bans include fishing and chess, with calls for bans in darts and pool - none of them sports where a male ‘biological advantage’ would clearly manifest itself. If anything, it’s misogynistic to suggest that cis women are so incapable that they can’t handle competing against those who went through a testosterone-based puberty!
Stories of women athletes who strive to compete against men or compete under the same rules as men provide an alternative to the current narrative that advocating for women’s sports is about protecting women by segregating and limiting them. One such story involves a boxing champion, Amanda Serrano, who has been fighting to compete in 12 3 minute rounds, just as male boxers do, instead of the 10 2 minute rounds that has been standard for women in the sport. (Serrano vaguely criticized the new boxing regulations in a tweet.)
The athlete perspectives highlighted by right wing media outlets take an even harsher stance. Here’s the Daily Mirror quoting a former titleholder, Ebanie Bridges, on trans inclusion in boxing.
screenshot from the Daily Mirror
Policies excluding trans women also harm cis women. There are cis women who have naturally high testosterone, cis women who have divergent body types from what is seen as ‘typical,’ cis women who are intersex, and BIPOC cis women who get unjustly treated as more ‘masculine.’ These restrictions medicalize and essentialize womanhood down to biology, excluding everyone who doesn’t fit into the norms of a society that holds fundamental prejudices about gender.
That’s why when they come for trans women, we all need to speak out - because soon they’ll come for everyone else.
Mira Lazine is a freelance journalist covering transgender issues, politics, and science. She can be found on Twitter, Mastodon, and BlueSky, @MiraLazine